Hawaiian feather cloak ('ahu 'ula)

Description

This is a feather cloak given to Captain James Cook by a Hawaiian high chief at Kealakekua Bay in Hawaii on 26 January 1779. It measures 1.54 m x 2.45 m and is made from the yellow and red feathers of an estimated 20,000 mamo, o'o and i'iwi birds. It consists of a fibre backing into which bundles of feathers have been tied. The feather work starts at the bottom so that each new row conceals the quills of the feathers below.

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